Image Source: Getty/ Jeff Kravitz
Jessie J is sharing the details of her pregnancy loss for the first time. On a May 2 episode of Steven Bartlett’s podcast, “The Diary of a CEO,” the “Bang Bang” singer opened up about her experience in what she described as “the most honest, raw, emotional, candid, vulnerable conversation [she has] ever had publicly.” She first revealed her loss on Instagram in November 2021 but has since archived the post.
During her nearly two-hour-long conversation with Bartlett, Jessie J explained how the loss unfolded and the toll it took on her mental health. She recalled losing her baby the day before she was set to go back on tour after months of ear and throat issues that prevented her from performing. Despite the tragedy, she still performed the next day.
On the day of her loss, Jessie J said she felt like something was off and saw two doctors before she got the news. While the first doctor said that her baby’s heartbeat was just low, Jessie J had a feeling that it was something more serious. “I just knew something wasn’t the same,” she said. When she went to the second doctor just hours after seeing the first one, she was told that she had lost the baby.
During the interview, Jessie J also shared that she’s struggled with health issues almost all her life. As a child, she was diagnosed with a rare heart disease, and as a teenager, she struggled with strokes as a side-effect of her heart medication. As an adult, she was diagnosed with endometriosis, a disease commonly linked to pelvic pain, painful sex, and infertility. Jessie J described during the interview the devastation that accompanied her endometriosis diagnosis, because she knew it would make it difficult for her to have children. From her perspective, it was a miracle that she was able to get pregnant in the first place, so when she found out that she’d lost the baby, she felt “like I had been given everything I ever wanted, but someone said, ‘No, but you can’t have it.'” Grieving with the loss was isolating, especially since talking about pregnancy loss can be considered taboo. “I’ve never felt so lonely in my life,” the singer said.
Her experience struggling with rare disorders inspired her to connect with other people who’ve also dealt with pregnancy loss, which happens in one in four pregnancies. “The amount of women and men who have been close to someone losing a baby or are having infertility issues or losing a baby themselves . . . talking about that pain not only helped me, but helped other people,” Jessie J said. “I know that’s so much of my purpose.” Watch the promo for the emotional episode below.
